The Guild was rather empty, or emptier than it used to be at this hour. It was past afternoon and the day was slowly rolling towards the evening. Meribel was right when she said Hirvant had lost quite a few adventurers during the clan recruitment week, especially higher level adventurers who left the city with the clans that they had joined. Hirvant was a small city with a small dungeon from what people had told me, so many adventurers were more than happy to leave to try and make their fortunes somewhere else. As such, the Quest Board was plastered with all kinds of quests. From gathering Carnabbit fur to getting Goblie fangs. Take your pick. There were quests to get ore for smelters and blacksmiths too, but I had sold all that I had on me to Alragus.

  Right, I should probably give the Lesser Trent Wood that I still have to Savirei. A few extra bronze coins I would get from the quest here won’t make a big difference to me. I want to keep Rhaki’s skins to craft Rhanabbit Armor set that I would get more money than if I were to give those away for a quest and I am definitely not giving away Tarkee skins either. That leaves me with the quests that require Goblie fangs. I was looking through the quests and thinking in my head at the same time. Huh? A quest to get Weak Healing Potions? Oh, there’s one for normal Healing Potions too. Right, with much fewer adventurers around, the supply of the Medicinal Herbs has dwindled down, making it harder to acquire Healing Potions too. They offer seven silvers per Weak Healing Potion here which is higher than it normally was not that long ago and they need ten of them. That’s seven gold coins right there. I’m taking this one.

  It was an easy seven gold coins for me since I had extra Weak Healing Potions on me. I have also found several quests where they asked for Goblie fangs. I checked with the ladies first to find out how many Goblie fangs we had in total, which amounted to thirteen of them. There were two quests that were asking for six and five Goblie fangs each, making me four gold and five silver coins in total. After I have picked up the quests I could fulfill, I went to the counter to get paid.

  “Hello, Rockin. How have you been?” Rozalina greeted me.

  “Hi, Rozalina. I’ve been better than good. How are you?” I asked in return.

  “Better than good? Wow, haven’t heard that one before,” Rozalina chuckled.

  “Yeah, well…” I mumbled, showing an awkward smile. I was in an uplifting mood simply because I was about to make some good money.

  “Hi, Miss Rozalina,” Ranalaiya greeted her.

  “Greetings, Miss Rozalina,” Sylfrin added.

  “Hello,” Lilfira simply waved.

  “Hello to you all. I see you are doing well. And Lilfira you did wonderfully duri-, oh?” Rozalina greeted the women back, about to comment about the Rites of Strength that Lilfira had participated only a few days ago when she noticed something about Lilfira, making her gasp in surprise. I knew what it was. Lilfira now had a slave’s collar around her neck. “Ah, so sorry. I got distracted there for a moment. I didn’t have a chance to congratulate you on winning your fights during the Rites of Strength yet, Lilfira. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Miss Rozalina,” Lilfira smiled, an awkward silence surrounding us the next moment.

  “Right, so… I’ve picked up these quests,” I said after a short moment, placing the papers on the counter.

  “Oh, yes. The quests. Will you be going to the dungeon, Rockin?” Rozalina asked.

  “No. I have everything on me. I would like to deliver the items in order to complete the quests,” I told her.

  “Really? Ok then,” Rozalina smiled. She checked all the details about the quests, collected the Weak Healing Potions and the Goblie fangs from me, paying me handsomely for all of those. I’ve made eleven gold coins and five silvers, almost the amount I would need to pay to Meribel next month.

  “Thank you, Rozalina,” I said after collecting the money.

  “You’re welcome, Rockin. Just to let you know, you’re not far from having your Adventurer’s Rank increased from Rank E to Rank D. If you keep completing higher level quests like you do, your Adventurer’s Rank will be increased in no time,” Rozalina informed.

  “Ok,” I said, not really bothered by it. “We’ll be going now. See you later, Rozalina.

  “Bye Rockin and everyone else as well,” Rozalina smiled.

  Geez… I know they have slave collars around their necks, but they are not exactly slaves. I mumbled in my head before leaving the Guild.

  “Wow, you need to complete only a few more quests and your rank will be increased, Master Rockin,” Ranalaiya said cheerfully after we were out.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I just shrugged.

  “Huh? You’re not excited about it, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked, seeing my reaction.

  “I mean…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Not really.”

  “Why not, Master Rockin?” Sylfrin asked.

  “Well… I don’t see any benefits of being a higher rank adventurer. I suppose a higher Adventurer’s Rank is an indicator of someone who had completed more quests, but other than that, I don’t see why it would matter much,” I reasoned.

  “But didn’t Tarrion say that being a higher rank adventurer would allow you to take higher difficulty quests that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get?” Lilfira asked this time.

  “Yes, but you have to remember there’s also a restriction on the adventurer’s level too. I wouldn’t be able to qualify for the higher Adventurer’s Rank if my level was too low and you all know how fast my actual level goes up,” I said, adding a sarcastic grimace.

  “That’s true, but you’re as strong as someone who is level twenty, Master Rockin. Probably even stronger,” Ranalaiya argued.

  “Yes, but I am an exception. Higher level adventurers are usually stronger in general and it’s the easiest way for the Guild to measure one’s strength. So, you know…” I said, adding a shrug again before rolling my eyes.

  “Yes, that makes sense,” Sylfrin said.

  “By the way, where are we going now, Master”? Ranalaiya asked next.

  “Aah…” I scratched my head, thinking what to say.

  At first, I thought we’d just go back to Navirei’s inn so I could try and craft a new armor for Ranalaiya. However, once I start, and that’s only if my Crafting skill was high enough to allow me to do it, I would want to stick to it for as long as I could. I wouldn’t care much about being holed inside the room while working, but Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira would have nothing to do. I would probably not even go eat at Savirei’s diner, eating the food I still had in my Item Storage Box. Besides, the three little minxes might want to watch me work too, creating many distractions in the process. If they had something else to do while I worked however, it would solve the problem, but there was nothing to do for them at Navirei’s inn.

  “Hey, hold on,” a certain thought suddenly hit me.

  “What’s wrong, Master Rockin?” Sylfrin asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I just thought of something,” I said, a cheesy smile appearing on my face.

  “Huh? What… are you thinking, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked, a blush jumping on her cheeks.

  “Lilfira,” I turned towards Lilfira instead of answering Ranalaiya’s question.

  “Y… yes, Master Rockin?” Lilfira asked, wearing a suspicious look on her face.

  “Did you enjoy working at Savirei’s diner as a waitress?” I asked her.

  “Huh? Oh, yes, I actually did. Why do you ask, Master Rockin?” Lilfira became curious.

  “Here’s the deal, all three of you. I want to try and craft a new armor for Ranalaiya, but all of you know that it might take a while. In addition, you three would have nothing to do in the meantime. Sooo… how about you three go work at Savirei’s diner in the meantime?” I shared my devious plan with them.

  “I see. You want us to work too while you craft Ranalaiya’s armor, Master Rockin. That is very reasonable,” Sylfrin commented.

  “Wow, really? You want us to work at Savirei’s diner, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya exclaimed, excitement jumping in her eyes. “I’d love to. And if all three of us do it together, it will be so much fun.”

  “Oh, yeah. It was fun working for Miss Savirei when I was doing it alone, but it will be so much more enjoyable with all three of us doing it together,” Lilfira agreed.

  “Ok, great. How about we go talk to Savirei about it right now?” I suggested, trying to keep a neutral smile on my face.

  “Yes, let’s go,” Ranalaiya cheered, the three of them hitting it off the next moment about how much fun they will have doing it.

  Wow… That went better than I expected it would. Cool. Let’s go to Savirei’s diner then. I was glad the three of them were so eager to do it.

  “Hello, darling. You four are early today,” Savirei greeted me when she saw me. I went to the counter to talk to her while Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira stayed at one of the tables.

  “Hi, Savirei. Busy?” I asked right of the bat.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Quite so, actually. With the application craziness gone, more people started coming in to eat and I expect it to be rather busy tonight too,” Savirei told me.

  “Really? Sounds like you could use some help,” I said, trying to suppress my sheepish smirk.

  “I wouldn’t say no to having an additional server or waitress tonight. Why? Would you like to work for me, Rockin? Just so you know, I’d pay you well,” Savirei asked slyly, adding a wink too.

  “Oh, you wouldn’t want me to be a waiter,” I said, showing an awkward smile. “But I know of someone who would be perfect for the job. Three of them, in fact.” I added.

  “Huh? Wait… I wasn’t really serious about it, Rockin. Sorry, I apologize,” Savirei apologized, becoming worried.

  “Hey, don’t be. I am totally serious and I don’t mind you being… you,” I said, tilting my head to the side.

  “What?” Savirei asked, a puzzled expression not leaving her face.

  “Listen, here’s the deal,” I decided to finally drop the act. “I want to craft a new armor for Ranalaiya, but it could take a while, so… I thought maybe Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira could work for you in the meantime? We’ve already talked about it and all of them agreed to it.” I explained.

  “Wow, you are full of surprises, Rockin, as always,” Savirei said, not trying to hide her surprise.

  “Ah, you see, otherwise they’d be sitting in the room at Navirei’s inn while I work doing nothing,” I said, making a grimace.

  “That’s not what I meant, darling. I was talking about the part you asking Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira if they wanted to work here. On the other hand, it is you we are talking about here. Silly me for becoming surprised,” Savirei chuckled. “And to answer your question, I’d absolutely love to have the three of them to work here tonight. It’d be such a huge help. However, about the pay…”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’d be enough if they could get something to eat as a payment,” I said, not being bothered by it.

  “I don’t know if I can agree to such an unfair deal. How about I pay you instead, darling?” Savirei offered.

  “Yeah, ok,” I said. I had no intention of arguing with her.

  “Wonderful. So, when can they start?” Savirei asked.

  “They could start now if you want,” I said.

  “Now? That’s fine too,” Savirei said, becoming thoughtful.

  “Ok, great. I’ll go tell them that you agreed. I’ll come pick them up later,” I said.

  “Wait, you’re not staying, darling?” Savirei asked.

  “Ah, no. I said I want to do some crafting,” I reminded her.

  “Yes, I understand. But you know, I have some rooms available and you could use one of them to do your work,” she told me.

  “Really?” I asked, not expecting to hear such an offer.

  “Of course. Besides, I’d feel much more at ease knowing you are nearby, just in case. After all, Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira are quite the beauties, but they are also… you know…” Savirei said with a wink, her hint being clear of what she wanted to say.

  “Right. Yes, I agree. That’s a good idea,” I agreed, knowing what she meant. “In that case, if you could show me… Sorry, if one of your employees could show me to the room I could use, I’d be eternally grateful.” I showed a half-cheesy smile at the end.

  “Ahh… you’ve just ruined my plan, darling. And here I wanted to show it to you myself,” Savirei said, acting to be sad.

  “Next time, ok?” I said, showing a sarcastic grin. “Besides, only Lilfira knows what to do as a waitress. You’d better use the free time you have now to show Ranalaiya and Sylfrin the ropes too.” I came up with an excuse for her to stay here.

  “Aren’t you cheeky, Rockin?” Savirei asked me with a tease.

  As sweet as Savirei was, my mind was set on crafting and I wanted to get to it as soon as possible. After agreeing with Savirei about Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira working for her, I had someone show me to the room where I could lock myself in and do the work without any interruptions. I wished my three ladies to have fun, as well as to do proper work for Savirei, giving each one of them a kiss before leaving.

  Ok, let’s get started. I stretched before sitting down in front of the table, opening my Item Storage Box to take out some crafting materials. Right, I could try and craft something out of the Tarkee skins right away, but if my Crafting skill being level five is not high enough, I’d just waste a valuable material. How about I craft a few Rhanabbit Armor pieces first instead? I might be lucky and get my Crafting skill increased to level six as a result of it.

  I honestly wanted to try and craft a new armor for Ranalaiya, but Tarkee skins were precious and I didn’t know how many I would need to craft a full armor set for Ranalaiya. Ranalaiya didn’t need shoes, but I thought I could craft some sort of headwear for her this time as well, so wasting valuable materials would be, well, a waste. So instead, I took out some Rhaki’s skins and Carnabbit fur, and got to work.

  {a few hours later}

  “Ok, that’s the third piece done. One more and the Rhanabbit Armor set will be complete,” I said, speaking out loud before stretching. “Ok, aah… maybe I should eat something before continuing? Hmm… I have some food on me, but maybe I could go to the diner instead? I could check on Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira to see how they are doing with an excuse I came down to eat.” The last thought was reasonable. I knew Lilfira would be fine since she had worked for Savirei before, but I was curious how Ranalaiya and Sylfrin were faring.

  “What the f…” I gasped, my eyes almost popping out of their eyeholes the moment I went downstairs. The diner was totally packed. Like, completely, fully packed. Not only there were no empty tables, but people were waiting at the entrance to get a seat a soon as one became available. “The fuck’s going on here?” I was completely flabbergasted. I knew Savirei has said the diner was starting to get busier, but what I saw was beyond busy.

  “Rockin! Over there!” I heard someone shout, seeing Krisel waving at me. She and Tarrion were sitting at one of the tables.

  “Hi,” I said after coming over, turning around again to see what was going on.

  “You sure know how to attract a crowd, Furball,” Tarrion blurted instead of saying hi.

  “Eh?” I turned to him, crinkling my nose.

  “Quite an ingenuous plan to help Savirei grow her business, Rockin,” Krisel said, smiling wide.

  “Ok,” I said, not knowing what they were talking about. “Question: what the hell is going on here?”

  “Huh?” Tarrion raised an eyebrow, also making a grimace.

  “Wait, don’t tell me this wasn’t part of your plan, Rockin?” Krisel asked me.

  “What plan? I simply wanted to do some crafting without any distractions, so I asked Savirei if Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira could work here for a few hours,” I told them.

  “They are doing a very wonderful work as you can see,” Krisel said, showing a smile.

  “Ahh… yeah,” I said before turning to look around to see if I could find where to sit.

  “You won’t find any free tables, Rockin. Why don’t you join us? You don’t mind, do you, dear?” Krisel asked me before turning to get a confirmation from Tarrion.

  “Tss… of course not,” Tarrion said, showing she shouldn’t have even asked.

  “Thanks,” I sat down, still feeling perplexed. “Damn…”

  “You look very surprised about so many people being here, Rockin. Don’t tell me you didn’t expect for that to happen?” Krisel asked.

  “What? How could’ve I expected for something like that to happen?” I asked her back.

  “You’re joking, right?” Tarrion grunted at me.

  “But certainly you must’ve known that Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira would attract more customers, especially with how they look wearing their uniforms,” Krisel told me.

  “Well… yes. I mean, I know they would look good wearing a waitress’ uniform, but…” I knew what Krisel meant, but at the same time I didn’t.

  “Wait, don’t tell me you haven’t seen them in their uniforms yet, Rockin?” Krisel asked me, seeing my weird facial expression.

  “No. I went away to do my work the moment I agreed with Savirei for Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira to work here. Speaking of work, where are those three?” I asked, it finally dawning on me that Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira were nowhere to be seen.

  “They are taking a break for the time being, but I am sure they should be… Oh, they are back already,” Krisel said, her eyes sliding to look at me instead of looking anywhere else.

  “Really? Ok…” I said, my jaw dropping almost down to the table when I saw Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira come out. “Wooow…” I gasped, my eyes not wanting to blink.

  I knew right there and then why Savirei’s diner was so overfilled. Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira looked too adorable and too cute to describe. Savirei must’ve been saving those uniforms for a very special occasion, the occasion being very special right now. The uniforms all three of them were wearing were different from the regular waitress’ uniforms that Savirei’s other employees had on. For one, Ranalaiya’s, Sylfrin’s and Lilfira’s uniforms resembled maid’s uniforms if I ever saw one. The unifroms were not exactly the same as the ones I remember from my previous world, but that didn’t matter. All three of them looked drop-dead gorgeous, in addition to being very, very cute. The moment Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira saw me, all three of them ran to the table where Tarrion, Krisel and I were sitting at.

  “Good evening, sir. Can I take your order?” Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira asked me all at the same time.

  “Huh? Yeah…” I mumbled, not a single other word wanting to come out of my mouth.

  “Hmm…” Krisel couldn’t help but chuckle, seeing me starting to drool.

  “Huh? Humph,” fortunately, Krisel starting to laugh helped me snap out of my fantasies.

  “What do you think of my outfit, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked me before I could say anything else, spinning around to show off how adorable she looked.

  “This one is a different uniform from the one I wore before. Do you think I look good in it, Master Rockin?” Lilfira asked me next, adding the cutest smile.

  “It is a little tight around my chest, but Miss Savirei said she didn’t have any other sizes. Does it still look good on me, Master Rockin?” Sylfrin not only knew how to pick the right words, but also how to turn, or lean forward, to make the best impact.

  “Aah…” my jaw was down to the ground once again.

  “Hey, you’re cheating, Sylfrin,” Ranalaiya complained.

  “What do you mean? I simply asked Master Rockin how I looked,” Sylfrin said, sounding like she had done nothing wrong.

  “Yes, but…” Ranalaiya pouted her lips.

  “Aaah… Hey, listen… Huh?” I wanted to say something, but suddenly noticed I wasn’t the only one staring at the three gorgeous angels. More than half of the diner was staring at Ranalaiya, Sylfrin and Lilfira as well. “Ahem… I’d like to order Rhaki’s fried meat, please.” I quickly placed an order.

  “Huh? What was that, Master Rockin?” Ranalaiya asked, not able to hear what I just said.

  “One fried Rhaki’s meat coming up. It will take only a short while, sir,” Lilfira was quick to acknowledge she heard my order.

  “What? No. I wanted to take Master Rockin’s order,” Ranalaiya complained again.

  “And what would you like to drink, sir?” Sylfrin used the opportunity to ask me in the meantime.

  “Oh, aah… pfff… water… please,” I said, knowing full well I needed to cool off.

  “What? I missed out again,” Ranalaiya exclaimed, looking completely defeated.

  “Sorry, Ranalaiya, but you need to focus on your work more,” Sylfrin reminded her.

  “Oh, that’s just mean, Sylfrin,” Ranalaiya pouted her cheeks before remembering something. “I know, I know. Would you like a dessert too, sir? I mean, you would, right?” Ranalaiya put on the sweetest act, looking both desperate and hopeful, in addition to being somewhat awkward too. However, her awkwardness was what made her look extremely adorable too.

  “Of course I would. What kind of desserts do you have?” I couldn’t help but add some playfulness to our interaction at this point.

  “Me,” Ranalaiya said, showing a wide smile.

  “Huh?” I gasped.

  “Ranalaiya,” both Sylfrin and Lilfira turned their upset gazes at her.

  “Ahem… So sorry, sir. How about… how about a sweet… sweet cake with berries?” Ranalaiya was having a hard time to remember the name of the cake she wanted to recommend, feeling awkward and all, but she salvaged the situation at the end.

  “Yes, I will take it,” I said with a smile.

  “Yay,” Ranalaiya cheered. “Oh, sorry. Your order will be delivered soon.”

  “Thank you for your order, sir,” Sylfrin and Lilfira added before all three of them rushed off to let Savirei know about my order.

  “Sigh…” I dropped my head down after they were gone.

  “It was such a delight to watch your interaction with all three of them, Rockin,” Krisel decided to not be quiet about it.

  “Thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes and making Krisel giggle.

  “So, any plans on going to the dungeon?” Tarrion asked me unexpectedly. On the other hand, I was glad he changed the topic.

  “Oh, yeah. I have spoken to Alragus about going to the dungeon. He said he needs to increase his level in order to be ablet to craft higher level gear and asked me if I could take him into the dungeon the next time I went. He’s level twelve, but you’re willing to come along as well, we could help him gain more than one level. However, I won’t be going into the dungeon until our clan’s place is ready to use,” I told him.

  “Our clan’s place?” Tarrion asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

  “Yes. I had spoken with Meribel and she agreed to rent an office at the Auction House that we could use as our clan’s meeting place, but it won’t be available until only the day after tomorrow,” I explained.

  “Damn,” Tarrion grunted. “Ahem… could you tell me more? About our clan’s place and the dungeon.”

  “Sure,” I agreed. I would still need to wait for my food to arrive which would probably take a while anyway and talking to Tarrion about what was happening within our clan was a good time killer.

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